Disclamer: I don't own...what made you think I did??
Written forFMA Exchange 2nd Anniversary Contest on LiveJournal. You can find the link for my own LJ on my profile page as well as the picture that goes with this. as the contest says, a picture is worth a 1000 words...
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Part 1 of ? in a series of oneshots that are all connected from differing view points, all averaging about 1000 words more or less. Other parts can be found on my profile or at my LiveJournal.
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The Light of Day
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Never in his life had he ever imagined that there was something like this under the city of Central. Standing as he was on the cobbled stone bridge spanning the upper most part of the chamber, Roy commanded a panoramic view of the ancient city below. Styles of architecture long since gone out of style dominated the cavernous lower bowl. And there was light. Somehow, there was enough light to see clear across to the other side. It was pale and greenish, this illumination, lending the scenery an even more surreal, otherworldly feel.
Roy shook his head at the sight. How could no one know about this? This was massive. This was amazing… It was…scary. There were signs of alchemy all over the place. The cavern walls were too smooth to be natural, the underground city too perfect. The whole place practically reeked of alchemy.
And there was a quality to the air that wasn't due to lack of ventilation that was putting him on edge. There was heaviness, like a feeling of walking through something other then just oxygen and nitrogen. It made the hairs on his arms stand up and the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably.
The shifting of his feet across the gritty stone echoed in the stillness setting him even more on edge. Roy took a steadying breath, taking one last look at the vista and then he began his final descent to the lower bowl. At his command, he was going in here alone, but now he wished that he had brought at least some backup. Hawkeye's sniper abilities would be nice to have at his back or Havoc's stout military maneuvers… But he had chosen to enter alone not only for their safety, but because he wasn't sure what he'd find down here.
Carefully, he descended the broken, uneven stairs, keeping a firm grip on the stone railing. The stone was covered in lichens and mosses that made the footing unsure and dangerous. All along the outer walls, there was moisture. Mostly it was just condensation, making the walls sparkle within the strange green light, but in some places there were actual waterfalls cascading down onto the streets. Roy eyed them as he descended, idly wondering why the place hadn't flooded. But then, as he continued his cautious climb down, he guessed that the water was most likely draining out at some point further down in the chamber.
For several minutes Roy traversed the staircase, naively thinking he was alone in this underground cavern, when quite suddenly a building towards the far edge of the cave blew up in a cloud of dust. Roy stared wide eyed at the noise, his heart pounding in fright. Standing stock still, he gripped the railing, leaning over the side and straining his eyes to pierce the clearing cloud for any signs of life. His eyes roved over the roof tops, looking for anything. But no further sounds reached him, until, just as he was about to hurry down the last twenty or so steps, Roy saw a vivid blue light of alchemy engulf another building.
"Ed… What have you done?" hissed Roy, frowning hard at the destruction. He knew almost instantly that it was Ed's alchemy that lit the interior, even though he didn't know if the boy was here for sure. Mentally calculating the distance between his position and the rubble, Roy flew down the staircase and into the wet street, running hard.
It wasn't like he was out of shape, but he certainly didn't have to run like this often. So, it wasn't long before he was huffing loudly, leaning against a building, trying to catch his breath. He had covered about half the distance so far and made the decision that it was time to put on his ignition cloth gloves. He slipped the rough material over his hands and began to walk warily down the street, looking into empty, derelict buildings as he went.
The ground shuddered beneath his feet, making him lengthen his stride. He wasn't far now from the collapsed building. It should just be around this next corner—
Roy froze where he stood, looking way up at a beaten and bloodied body transmutated to the side of a four story building. Fresh blood dribbled from the fingertips, off the chin; but the greatest amount of blood came from the open neck. Even from this distance, Roy could see the trachea sway along the collar bone and the meat of the neck looked raw and foul. Judging from the body shape, he guessed it was male, but the person looked like it might be female too, it was hard to tell now. Matted stringy hair swayed slightly back and forth, dripping more blood.
He wondered if it was Edward who had done this—attached this…person to the side of the building, ripped out its throat.
Turning in a slow circle, he searched for any signs of Edward. He couldn't be far. Roy stained his ears for any noise, any half whispered words. Even more wary, he eased down the street, peering into each building.
Just up ahead, Roy saw a low building, older looking then the rest. It was only one story tall, with no glass in the windows, no door in the door frame. The plastered outer walls were crumbling, revealing the orange brick work under it. Of all the buildings he saw down here, this one stood out; strange in its difference.
Roy felt drawn to it and the large splashes of blood leaning inside made him feel that he was on the right track. Raising his hand before him, he maneuvered himself to the far window frame, peaking inside. His stomach bottomed out at the sight that met his eyes.
Blood, more crimson then blood ought to be, coated the white walls. Dripping from the ceiling, rolling down the walls; it was like something had exploded in here. Hurrying to the door, Roy forced his eyes to pierce the dimness. The sunken earth floor was free of furniture or other debris but for a single brick hearth in front of an empty fire place directly in front of the door.
Curled on his side, facing the empty fire place lay Edward Elric. His famous red coat, ripped and in pieces, looked drab next to the rich color of blood all around the boy. What little remained of the rest of his clothing was in just as bad shape as the coat. But Roy couldn't tell if any of this blood belonged to Edward or not, so, cautiously, he entered the dwelling.
The sound of his feet on the dirt floor did nothing to the still body. No reaction. Nothing. Roy began to fear that whatever battle that had just taken place might have taken too great a toll on the small alchemist. He placed on foot on the mantle, leaning forward to take hold of the metal shoulder and pulled Ed over onto his back.
"Oh… Ed…" murmured Roy, his voice full of sadness and regret. Roy could see now that the tattered remains of Ed's clothing had hid the fact that a broken off section of two by four was firmly impaled through his body, just below his sternum. Though he couldn't explain the blood within the house, Roy figured that it had been Ed's last act to somehow transmute that body up onto the building before he had crawled in here and died. Alone.
Roy pulled off his jacket and laid it over the young man's face, bowing his head. He was very glad that he had decided to go in here alone.
He didn't want anyone to see him cry…
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